Support

Letter of support from Professor Christine Moffatt CBE, Honorary Professor at University of Glasgow.

Professor Moffatt has been named one of the 20 most influential nurses in the past 60 years by the Nursing Times.

Dear Professor Nolan

I am writing to express my shock and concern at the proposed plans to close the Nursing and Health Care Faculty at Glasgow. As you may be aware I have worked with this group for a number of years in different ways. More recently it has been a great privilege to be an honorary professor. I believe this is a very short sighted approach to remove a faculty that is not only delivering some of the best nurse education in Scotland and England but who are also developing a strong research basis. Their research portfolio is rapidly growing. They are currently conducting an NIH portfolio study on intermittent pneumatic compression in which Margaret Sneddon is the principal investigator. They are also collaborators on a large HTA study. The faculty also has other important research in the areas of stoke and chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

I also write this letter on behalf of the ILF a charity dedicated to improving the care of patients with lymphoedema globally of whom I am the current director. This department, through the work of Margaret Sneddon, plays a very significant role in this work. Margaret is a trustee of the charity and is leading work to establish international educational standards for lymphoedema. This collaboration includes key partnerships with institutions such as the University of Missouri, McGill University and Tokyo University.

I strongly urge the university to reconsider its proposed plans.

Yours Sincerely

Professor Christine Moffatt CBE

Honorary Professor

Nursing and Health Care Faculty

Glasgow Medical School

 

Letter of support from Rev. David Mitchell – Programme Leader of Chaplaincy Healthcare

I'm writing as programme leader to express my deep and sincere concern at the University's proposed closure of the Nursing and Healthcare School which would in effect close the Healthcare Chaplaincy Programme. The closure will have a profound effect on chaplaincy education across Scotland.

The University of Glasgow was chosen by NHS Education for Scotland in 2008 to be the only University in Scotland, and one of only three in the UK to provide healthcare chaplaincy education. The University is still benefitting 110m the initial core funding from NHS Education for Scotland to develop the programme and support the first 2 cohorts of students. To close the programme just as the primer funding source concludes will have a negative effect on the reputation of the University of Glasgow and could influence future funding across the university from NHS Education for Scotland.

One of the reasons the University of Glasgow was successful in its bid to attract the funding and develop the healthcare chaplaincy programme was the uniqueness of the Nursing and Health Care School's Multidisciplinary Masters Programme. This programme enables healthcare chaplains to study alongside their healthcare colleagues from other professions and to achieve advanced qualifications in professional education. The programme has been warmly welcomed and accredited by the UK Board of Healthcare Chaplaincy and will soon be a requirement for the professional registration of healthcare chaplains in Scotland and throughout the UK thus ensuring the sustainability of the programme.

To date all students seeking to enter chaplaincy as a profession have been successful in attaining employment as a healthcare chaplain including promoted posts. From January 2011 a number of NHS Boards have now made the programme a requirement for all new chaplains being appointed ensuring a regular supply of students.

Having completed the initial developmental phase the programme is now ready to advertise throughout the UK and increase its numbers. It is clear from recent enquiries that the unique blended/distance learning approach of the programme is very attractive to prospective students from all across the UK including Northern Ireland and the University of Glasgow is the only university offering this accredited approach to chaplaincy education in the UK.

It is a bitter disappointment that just as the healthcare chaplaincy programme has chieved its initial aims and has celebrated with NHS Education for Scotland its successful beginning the programme is under threat of closure.

I would hope you would he able to make the following points as part of the consultation:

• The MSc in Health Care Programme offered by the school is unique and was specifically selected as a model of excellence for the integration of the healthcare chaplaincy education programme.

• The multidisciplinary nature of the programme offers a clear and structured programme for all healthcare professions including healthcare chaplaincy to study together.

• The University of Glasgow's healthcare chaplaincy programme is at the forefront of

chaplaincy education in the UK and having completed its developmental phase is being

launched and recommended across the UK.

• NHS employers are now recommending the programme to all chaplaincy posts ensuring a regular and increasing number of students.

• To date all students who have completed the course have been successful in gaining

employment as healthcare chaplains including promoted posts.

• No other department in the University of Glasgow can presently offer the same

multidisciplinary healthcare programmes that are core to healthcare chaplaincy education

If I can be of further help in clarifying any or the above comments or answering any questions as part of the consultation please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Rev. David Mitchell

Programme Leader: Healthcare Chaplaincy

 

 

Letter of Support to Prof Nolan from a current International Applicant

Hello Andrea,

I recently heard about the possibility of the discontinuance of the University of Glasgow’s Nursing programme due to budget shortages and a declining economy. I wanted to send you a message pledging my support for the programme and detailing reasons as to why the programme should be kept alive.

I am an international student from California, and I am intent on attending Glasgow after receiving and unconditional offer for Fall 2011. Ever since I studied abroad at Glasgow a year ago, I have had my heart set on returning to the University. I felt that the education at Glasgow was truly astounding, as I learned more in one year at Glasgow than I ever did in any of my other educational experiences. I even thought it was more effective and preferable to the education at my home university, UC Berkeley. All of the professors, instructors, and other staff were extremely helpful and welcoming throughout my experience of studying there.

Upon deciding where I wanted to go to Nursing School and continue my education, I knew that Glasgow was not only my top choice, but also my dream school. The connection that I made with the University and city of Glasgow was profound and life changing, and if I were not able to experience that connection in Glasgow again, many of my hopes and dreams would be crushed.

If I feel this way, there are most definitely other students hoping to study Nursing at Glasgow that also feel the same way. Because of the amazing opportunities Glasgow has to offer, especially considering its renown Nursing programme, the Nursing programme specifically should be maintained at all costs. I hope that this letter helps convince the decision makers about the necessity of keeping Nursing alive at Glasgow University.

Thank you for your time and all the best,

Vanessa Harvey

Vanessa Harvey

BA in History UC Berkeley, May 2011

BN in Nursing, University of Glasgow, expected 2014

Support from The Beatson:

Dear Professor Nolan,

I was very disappointed to hear that the Glasgow University Nursing and Health Care School is being considered for closure.

Over the years I have been involved with the school in a number of capacities including teaching, research and supporting students undergoing undergraduate and post graduate study.

The school has long been associated with providing capable “quality” nurses who are very employable. In addition, there is close collaboration with the clinical service and the post graduate courses also provide sound academic preparation for practice, including in the specialist setting.

In terms of research, there are good examples of multi professional studies being undertaken by the School. I am involved in the field of cancer nursing and there is now an established research collaboration between The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre and the Nursing & Health Care School to develop multi professional research in breast cancer. A number of projects are underway or in development, some of which have attracted funding and others that we are preparing for external funding applications. This is an area that has the potential to develop further.

Glasgow University’s Nursing and Health Care School provide quality undergraduate and post graduate training as well as continuing to develop robust multi professional research and it would be a substantial loss if it were to close.

If I can be of any assistance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch,

Yours sincerely,

Dr Cathy Hutchison
Cancer Consultant Nurse

Letter of support from a former nursing sister, now an academic, who would prefer to remain anonymous:

Support Statement

Nursing & Health Care School
College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences
University of Glasgow

 

Glasgow University has historically delivered a graduate programme for nursing and in many ways has provided leadership for the other Universities in Scotland who later in the 1990’s would develop the Diploma of Higher Education programme and later the Bachelor of Science programmes. 

As a Nursing Sister at the Southern General Hospital I preferentially employed graduates of Glasgow University because of their unique abilities. Graduates possessed a strong science base to their practice and had highly developed transferrable skills. Graduates had acquired professional behaviours and attributes that gave flexibility in inter-professional working abilities. The graduates employed consistently could quickly understand complex clinical situations and arrive at decisions with confidence and with application of evidence based care.

I am now a Senior Lecture in another University however completed the majority of my post graduate qualifications at the University of Glasgow and know beyond doubt that I had the very best education in Scotland.  I have continued to collaborate actively with colleagues at the Nursing and Health Care School and have always been impressed by their professionalism and commitment to students and to quality enhancement of education and skills development.  

Nursing as a profession needs nurses with outstanding expertise who will progress to future senior positions and who are capable of planning nursing services in the context of healthcare delivery and with insight into the consequences of such actions. 

I wish to give my support to the continuation of nursing programmes, undergraduate and post graduate, and the research profile at the Nursing & Healthcare School.